Metal drummer takes country songs to Rockin Rodeo

By Eric Woods | MRT

Published 12:54 pm, Monday, July 1, 2013

Just before gearing up for his latest album, John David Kent began thinking about what it was like being 18. The former drummer for the 90s sugar metal band Radish remembered how the whole world seemed to change overnight.

The title track to his soon to be released album, "Before The Sun Comes Up," was the product of those moments of nostalgia.

"To me, this album is a summertime album," said Kent, who will perform today at Rockin Rodeo. "I was feeling very nostalgic a lot of the time when I was writing the record and thinking about that time when you're 18 years old and you just finished school and you're trying to figure out the next move. It just made me feel like one of those nights when your whole life is going to be different."

Kent wasn't 18 when things began to change for him musically, but they did change shortly after his friend and former band mate Ben Kweller moved to New York. At that point Kent decided to started his own recording studio.

While Kent began his career on the drums, he had previously played guitar and piano, and since he had time, he decided to pick them both up again. He also started writing his own songs.

"When I first started out I didn't have any aspirations as a front guy," Kent said. "I grew up playing drums and started playing when I was 4 years old, so that really was all that I knew. I had that perspective of the audience."

"It was a very natural progression that I put another band together and started doing my songs," he added. "I didn't really want to be singing or lead vocalist behind the drum kit, so that's when I started playing guitar and piano in a band. That way I could do my songs. Now I love it and I don't miss playing drums at all. It's too much to set up and tear down."

When Kent started writing his own songs, he took bits and pieces from those who had inspired him in the past and created his own material. After a while he had his own style, but in the beginning Kent was a little apprehensive about others hearing his work.

"When I first started writing I would be absolutely mortified for people to hear those first songs," Kent said. "I was taking bits and pieces of my favorite songs and teaching myself that way. I started finding my own identity."

So, how did being in Radish play a part in Kent's current brand of country music?

"I don't know if Radish in particular did, but for me, music in general is all about attitude and a lot of the same kind of underdog, outside of the box things with Radish," Kent said. "I'm still like the same person in a sense. I come at everything with the attitude of the loner and a rebel and that kind of thing. Those things are still kind of similar."